Optical power measurement of high-power lasers involved absorbing as much of the laser power as possible in a power sensor with a subsequent determination of a resulting temperature change of the power sensor. This approach provided measured power to 1% accuracy levels. Thermal calorimetric power meters absorbed the incident optical power such that the sensor volume and response period scaled linearly with optical energy capacity but with relatively slow response times. Flowing water optical power meters measured optical power directly, which provided faster response times that were less dependent on power capacity. However, flowing water optical power meters had sizes that still scaled linearly with optical power capacity. For both types of power meter, high accuracy was dependent on a majority of the optical power being absorbed by the sensor, which precluded high-accuracy absolute power monitoring during laser use.
Accordingly, advances in methods and equipment for optical power determination would be advantageous and received favorably in the art.